...it's finally stew

I've watched FoodNetwork for a few years now...
and learned a great deal...

especially helpful, because I am a "cook"...
I'm always experimenting & adding ingredients...
so things are rarely exactly the same twice...
[unless I REALLY try...]

this is also why I'm not a successful baker...
precision is required...it's chemistry...


and I like to "play"...


last winter I got inspired to do a stew...

my usual efforts weren't "making it"...
so I looked & found Ina Garten's recipe...
for beef bourguignon ...and "adapted it" into a stew...
to rave reviews from the partakers...

I believe the meat is key...

I use boneless chuck shortribs...
cut into bite size pieces...
it cooks up tender, is very flavorful...
with mild marbling...and no gristle...

so this time of the year...I keep my eyes open...
and I was rewarded about a week or so ago...
when I stumbled upon 3.77 lbs of it...

I had the butcher cut it up into bite size pieces...
I took it home...
froze it and waited for cold, wet weather...
it finally hit...so today was "stew day"...

Catsinger's winter beef stew
[this makes a LOT...& that's a good thing...]

3.5 lbs boneless chuck short ribs, bite size pieces...
salt & pepper the meat...
dredge in flour, brown in olive oil[I use Ex V.]
in single layer batches in my wide LC cast iron d. oven...
moving the browned pieces to a holding pot...
before adding more... it was 4 or 5 batches total...



after the meat was done, I added a bit more oil...
and cooked 4 C of diced carrot, onion & celery...
along with a bunch of celery tops & leaves...
and about 18 cloves of minced garlic [S&P]...
stirring in a glass of pinot noir ...[one small bottle]
to de-glaze the pan of the meat cooking bits...
after the veggies were translucent...
I sprinkled on about 4 TBLSP of the left over dredging flour...
and stirred it into the veggies...
then added back the meat & juices...

I added about 1 C of brandy...[Christian Bros, VSOP]
2 more little bottles of pinot noir...
and a quart of beef stock...

tied a bundle of fresh thyme & tossed it in...
about a TBLSP of fresh minced rosemary...
a couple of TBLSPS of tomato paste...
3 bay leaves, some more S&P[also garlic powder]
chopped up 3 bunches of young carrots, tossed them in...
then stirred...



covered it and slid it in the preheated 250˚ oven...



it was supposed to be mostly cooked in 1.5 hours...

after 1.5 hours, I added 3 bags of baby pearl onions[frozen]
and about a TBLSP of grated nutmeg...
and put it back for another 30 mins...

it should have been done by then...
but it wasn't...
the carrots were not cooked...
the meat was too chewy...
the gravy hadn't thickened enough...

so I gave it 30 more mins, bumped up to 300˚...

STILL not done... I upped the temp to 350˚...
and gave it another 30...

finally, I pulled it out to check, and eureka...

it was done !

carrots tender, gravy thickened...
and the meat...very tender...

I pulled out the 3 bay leaves...
& the bunch of thyme stems...
then, I added a C of fresh chopped parsley...
and a 2 lb bag of frozen peas...



stirred it all together...

and it's stew...